Annual cash on cash returns of 10 % are very achievable (typical quarterly payouts) and through a concept called forced appreciation total returns + 20% over 5 yr hold periods are achievable.I prefer MF becsuse people need to live somewhere, I make one decision every 5yrs. 

What feels like a tiny baby step today can turn into a monumental achievement just a couple months down the line as long as your actionable steps are CONSISTENT!

@Brandon Bryant welcome to BP, being single gives you the flexibility to house hack, which means you can live in your home and rent out rooms and/or make improvements over time to achieve or increase cash flow/value.

Barri Griffiths welcome my friend, tons of info & great connections to make on this site from people that want to help you achieve your real estate goals.

I cannot speak to the specifics of the above deal, but in general deals in Norwich might sound like "steals" but there is a reason you can find "12-caps" in Norwich, CT: 1) Norwich is a depressed market, and I believe it's declining in population. 2) It's easy to underwrite deals in Norwich as a 12-cap, because showing "nationwide averages" on the pro-forma for line items (e.g. vacancies/bad-debt, repairs, reserves, turnover costs, etc.) might allow you to achieve those numbers. 

As many have noted here diversification is more easily achievable with the crowd (though you could also invest with a local HML as well and get that too) where you can put small amounts into syndicated deals.

Are the rents she is currently achieving going to drive the appraiser's number or is it simply the price the 3 unit property sold down the street as a closed comp regardless of income?  

The idea would be to move those bought properties to owned, and then achieve true cash flow.Maybe a better metric to determine if you have a good deal initially is cash on cash ROI, and positive cash flow?

I'm looking to network and soak up all the knowledge I can about REI and achieving FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

I would love to work with an investor to achieve this start up and make us both some money!